


City of...

by chick_with_wifi



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Batman AU, F/F, Gotham City - Freeform, Vigilantism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-31
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-07-28 01:08:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20055562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chick_with_wifi/pseuds/chick_with_wifi
Summary: The city lies in ruins. Root wants power, Shaw wants to protect people. They also want each other.Batman: No Man's Land AU





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> This AU was revealed to me in a dream

The problem, as far as Sameen Shaw was concerned, was with her watch. It was a good watch and she knew that. A Rolex, shock resistant and waterproof and accurate like you wouldn't believe. That wasn't the problem. It was that she had to wear the damn thing on her wrist, even when she was in costume. Even when she was the Huntress.

There was just no other accessible place to put it where she could reach it in a hurry. In a pouch on her belt, for instance, would require having a free hand and the time to reach it. So it stayed on her wrist, below the launcher on her forearm that fired razor-sharp spikes with a blast of compressed air, and she had long-ago resigned herself to all the problems that created.

Shaw couldn't even count the number of times she'd had to have the watch crystal repaired. Not to mention the pain that came from blocking a punch with a lump of metal wrapped around your wrist.

The Batman, she was certain, didn't wear a watch to work. No, he had some fancy heads-up display in that kevlar lined cowl of his. Something that kept perfect time, tied to the atomic clock in Colorado and that was visible day or night, but never obscured his vision.

All Shaw had behind the domino mask she wore as Huntress was third generation starlight lenses that only worked half the time. The Batman didn't have any of these problems. He had all the cool equipment and all the training to use it. Which he only shared with a select chosen few. 

And Shaw wasn't part of that elite club. But it was fine anyway. Since the Batman was gone and she didn't need a team. She’d been working alone since the death of her partner and that arrangement was fine by her. Somebody else would just get in the way, and she couldn’t afford that with so much work to do. 

Since the day Gotham City was declared a No Man's Land, she had been its sole protector. Patrolling every night to stop the copious amount of crimes that occured every night. This desperate situation brought out the worst in Gotham’s residents, violence and crimes the likes of which had never seen before even in this city.

It was a long time coming if you asked Shaw. Gotham was the murder capital of the country after all - at least it had been, when it was still part of the country. And if you put all their disasters together, one after the other, they had a death toll in the hundreds of thousands easy. How did we come to this? They were asking the same question on the late night news shows. Not that Shaw watched them, but she knew they recounted the contagion virus that had devastated the city three years ago. Then the second outbreak that picked up where the first one left off. Following that was the cataclysm, a record 7.6 Richter scale earthquake that destroyed the majority of the city, which was just adding insult to injury. What happened next, when you think about it in that light, wasn't too hard to believe. Gotham City, the new Sodom. Let it burn, let it rot, let it crumble. 

Currently Shaw was downtown, crouching uncomfortably on a rooftop with night vision binoculars in one hand and watching the entrance to the only store that still stocked produce. She suspected the owner had some connection to a supplier outside the city, but she hadn't been able to prove anything yet. 

Sure enough, two teenage boys in hoodies arrived and attempted to pry open the formerly-automatic doors with a crowbar. She let them try for a minute before jumping down and landing behind them, her cape swishing out dramatically.

They spun round, so startled that the taller one dropped the crowbar. On closer inspection she realised they were just kids, clearly desperate and not professionals at all.

"I hope you weren't about to rob this place," she said in a low voice. Her crossbow was held loosely at her side with no intention of being used, but she saw the boys give it nervous glances.

"No," the shorter one stammered.

"Good. Now, if you need food so badly you're willing to steal it, I suggest you head to the free clinic just off the main square. You know where I mean?"

They nodded. The taller one gulped, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. 

Shaw softened her voice, trying not to scare them any more than she already had done. "Ask for Grace Hendricks, tell her Huntress sent you and she'll be happy to help. Alright?"

They nodded again.

She bent to pick up the crowbar and held it out to them. "You dropped this."

"Keep it," the taller one said and they both ran off like the devil was at their heels.

Shaw sighed quietly. She hoped they would be alright. The kids of No Man's Land were the ones who suffered the most and the majority of them weren’t even old enough to understand what was going on.

She threw the crowbar into the gutter and pulled herself back onto the roof, resuming her vigil with one ear out at all times, in case there were any crimes nearby.

The store only got one more visitor that night, and he was considerably more dangerous. A man in a black ski mask threw a grenade through the glass panel on the door and Shaw dropped down again, just in time to realise he was holding a flamethrower and his intention was not to steal the food, but to destroy it.

That was low, even by current standards. She grabbed him by the neck and pinned him against the nearest wall, knocking over a stack of Zesti Cola cans as she did so.

He fumbled at the flamethrower, trying to activate it, but she wrenched it out of his hand, dislocating at least one of his fingers as she did so. Then stamped on it so hard it smashed into pieces.

"That'll be all ten of your fingers if you don't leave here and never come back," she hissed.

He didn't respond, so she used her free hand to pull his mask off. Then her breath hitched, almost imperceptibly. It was Hersh, the man who'd tried to kill her a few years back. And had succeeded in killing her partner. If anything that just made her angrier. And disgusted with how far he'd fallen.

"This food is some of the only we have left here. I won't tolerate any attempts to destroy it. Understood?"

He still didn't speak, so she positioned her hand so the spike holder was directly under his chin.

"One twist of my wrist and three inches of wood go straight through to your brain so unless you want to know what that feels like, I suggest you acknowledge what I told you."

"Understood," he drawled eventually.

She didn't want to, but she had to let him go. He technically had done what she asked, after all. Even if it was plain he'd just been humoring her and wasn't actually intimidated by her threats.

That was the problem - she still wasn't able to instill fear the same way Batman did and she never would be. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same.

"Remember," she called after Hersh. "This city is under my protection."

He gave a lazy wave without turning round and she clenched her fists. She wanted to hurt him, badly, but knew that wouldn’t achieve anything. 

She waited until he was gone, then she got the can of spray paint out of her utility belt, shook it and began drawing.

-

After ninety days of No Man's Land, Root had come to the following conclusion: anarchy was mankind's natural state. 

She didn't think even the most jaded social anthropologist could have anticipated how quickly it would happen. How quickly the tribes would form. Within one week of the day the bridges blew and NML began, the block where Root lived had changed hands three times. Gangs that came and went so quickly, she didn't even remember their names.

Since then it had settled down somewhat and she was able to keep track of who controlled what territory, using a map tacked to the wall with colored drawing pins representing each of the gangs. There were four major players, which were: the Blue Boys (formerly the GCPD), the Catalyst, the Street Demonz (with a z) and Samaritan.

She was fairly sure she lived in Street Demonz territory. Either them or the Catalyst. The difference was academic, because aside from their tags and colors their rule was mostly the same. They tromped along the streets demanding that everyone they see give them either food or goods in exchange for their so called 'protection'. That was about as evolved as they'd gotten; they had yet to truly discover the entrepreneurial spirit. Thankfully.

Root herself was mostly removed from the various fights going on at street level, since her base of operations was the Gotham clock tower. She had fitted it with the latest state of the art technology running off a host of back up generators she'd been keeping 'just in case', which made her the only person in the city with access to power.

Since money had no value in No Man's Land, the main currency was information and that was Root's speciality. She ran a network of people loyal to her all across the city, who kept her appraised of what was happening in exchange for various benefits. Her identity was a strict secret and she had taken to using the code name Oracle. None of her agents knew anything about her and she was determined to keep it that way.

She had even formed a sort of agreement with the Batman, who came to her as a main source of information and didn't treat her like a criminal just because she looked out for herself, unlike the rest of Gotham's masked vigilantes. And she liked to keep her friends close and her enemies closer. Not that she really had friends, but the point still stood.

The only problem was, nobody had heard from him since NML began. And Root wasn't sure what that meant. He could be dead, but somehow she couldn't bring herself to believe that. He might have left, but she didn't buy that either. He was as attached to Gotham as any of them and devoted his life to protecting its people, there was no way he would leave now when they needed him more than ever. 

Her phone rang and she switched on her voice modulating programme before answering. "Yes?"

"I'm calling about a tag I saw downtown." It was Daniel Casey, one of her most loyal people who had been with her since even before NML began.

She glanced at the map. "I make that Catalyst territory. A blue square made up of dashed lines?"

"No."

She frowned. There was no way such a big chunk of land could have changed hands without her knowing.

"It's the bat, boss."

So he was back. And she hadn't heard anything. He would have called her, right? They weren’t exactly BFFs but professional courtesy still stood. And he definitely would have called Harold.

"Crime has reduced already. No telling if it's an impostor or not but you have to admit that symbol has power." He paused. "You still there, boss?"

"Yes I'm here." Her mind was reeling. "Thank you for telling me, Daniel. I'll look into it. Oracle out."

She hung up and walked over to the window, resting her elbows on the sill. What had Gotham come to?

It was dark, but she caught the silhouette of the Huntress when she walked under a streetlamp. She was the only masked vigilante Gotham had left and although they had never met, Root had a lot of admiration for the woman.

She was skilled, clever and despite Root's best efforts she hadn't been able to find out who she was. She was, to put it mildly, intrigued.

-

The pair stood on the sunken roof of the GCPD central precinct. Their view of the lake was almost entirely unobstructed by the shattered skyline before them. It was bitterly cold and windy, but not raining yet although the air held the distinct heaviness of it.

Commissioner Joss Carter knelt by the large floodlight that could paint the clouds with the symbol of a giant bat. She flicked the switch on, and the light slowly came to life.

She stood up and walked over to where Detective Fusco was standing, hands deep in his overcoat pocket.

"You sure the bat's going to come?" he asked her.

"Honestly? No." Carter sighed.

Police departments all over the country frowned on her alliance with Batman, thinking she couldn't do her job without the help of a man in a cape and cowl. Not to mention the issues of being a black woman in a position of power. Her response was usually to ask them how they would like working in a city with so many criminal lunatics and turn down some extra help. The idea of living in Gotham - or should she say No Man's Land - was enough to make all of them stop their line of questions.

Since the day the bridges blew, cutting their city off from the rest of the USA, Batman hadn't been seen or heard from. Until a few days ago when Fusco had raced into her office, brandishing a printout of a yellow bat tag. Carter didn't think she'd ever seen him move so fast.

Tags were a big part of the NML. Apparently the only sign of status was to be part of a gang and spray paint your tag everywhere you could. So, without anybody really knowing how, the police department had rebranded themselves the Blue Boys. Carter wasn't a fan but the alliteration was catchy and she didn't have much choice but to put up with it.

"Commish," Fusco said, nodding at the shadow behind the signal where someone had just landed.

Carter knew instantly it wasn't him. Their visitor was too short and the shadow was the wrong shape.

"Hello?" she said cautiously.

They stepped into the light, revealing a purple cape, long dark hair and a purple mask. It was the Huntress.

Carter hadn't heard too much about this new vigilante. All she knew was that she wasn't allied with Batman and co, was much more ruthless than him and worked in the shadows.

"Commissioner," she said, inclining her head respectfully.

"You aren't Batman," Fusco said. He always did like to state the obvious.

"No," Huntress replied. "But I'm the closest you've got."

"You don't know what happened to him?" Carter asked, although she was fairly certain of the answer.

Huntress shook her head. "No idea."

"What about the bat tags?" Fusco continued.

"That was me. Figured the symbol would scare some people into submission."

Carter fought to hide her disappointment from showing on her face. "Alright."

Since it had done all it was going to, she bent to turn off the signal. "I suppose you're the one dealing with the rogues gallery...now?" She straightened up and realized she was talking to thin air. "Dammit, not another one."

"Yeah...she's gone, Commish."

"I see that, Fusco. Stupid vigilantes." She was seriously considering putting up a sign. ‘Welcome to Gotham No Man’s Land. Please, no more lunatics in costume’.

-

Finch was worried. He had been for some time. His friend and ally John Reese, known to some as the Batman, hadn't contacted him since the day the bridges blew. He doubted something bad had happened to him, but surely it wasn't too much to ask that he called to inform Finch he was still alive, one would hope.

He'd been keeping a low profile, spending most of his time in the Batcave monitoring the comms when he wasn't helping out at the free clinic.

Oracle had contacted him a few times to ask for news of Batman's whereabouts, but he sadly didn't have any information to give her. Then she'd started to call more frequently, originally under the guise of wanting help with computer stuff, but he quickly figured out she wasn't hailed as the best hacker in the world for nothing. 

After that she regularly called just to chat. She used a computerized voice modulator and Finch had been unable to get any more information on her. He got the impression she didn't get to speak to many people. 

As for the idea that she might be a threat… it had crossed his mind but Mr Reese was just as paranoid as he was and seemed to trust her for whatever reason, so Finch did too.

The comms rang and he answered it, expecting it to be Oracle. "Hello?"

"Finch. It's me." The gravelly voice could only belong to one person.

"Mr R-Batman. I'm glad to hear you aren't dead. At least, I assume you aren't contacting me from beyond the grave?"

"No. I had to stay away. I was busy making a plan, a way to stop all the violence in No Man's Land."

"I gather you succeeded in this endeavor and that's why you are contacting me at long last. Oracle and I thought you might be dead, you know. Or abandoned Gotham to fend for itself."

"Oracle…"

"Have you spoken to her yet?"

"No. I have a plan and I've prepared as much as I can. But I'll need your and Oracle's help to implement it."

"Are you back in the city?"

"Finch…" The door swung open and Batman stepped into the room. "I never left."

Finch stood to greet his friend. Then Reese lost no time in referring to the map they kept on the table. "Four main factions. Blue Boys, I have an in with Commissioner Carter. Catalyst and Samaritan are unknowns, but I have a history with Street Demonz leader Zoe Morgan. And I've just collected enough money to bribe her and get her on our side."

"Four factions. You're planning to unite them? You must be aware that is an incredibly risky move."

"That's the only chance we have to stop them wiping each other out. Are you in?" 

"Of course."

-

The noise had gotten Root's attention. The sound of them marching and banging their metal… she didn't know what the hell it was. She looked out the window and there were over fifty of them at both ends of the street.

She wasn't sure who was leading them, but she knew it was Samaritan even before she used her binoculars to confirm it.

There were two cops, but one of them turned rabbit, leaving Officer Silva to guard the door. And what was she supposed to do? Threaten to arrest them?

Root ran over to the safe where she kept her rifle. She wasn't proud of it, but she had killed before and would do so again if she had to. And that was the only way she could protect herself, Dani Silva and the other people living in her building. They were following one man, she wasn't certain who he was precisely but he was definitely in charge. And if their leader was dead the others would retreat, she knew it as surely as she'd ever known anything.

The feeling of looking through the scope of a rifle and seeing a man oblivious go her, and knowing she could kill him with just one pound of pull from her right index finger was one she was all too familiar with. She took the safety off and lined up the shot, the movement coming naturally to her.

And then...she flew by. Huntress. Her purple cape swished out behind her as she dropped down and released a canister of tear gas.

Root gasped and lowered her rifle. She'd never seen Huntress in action up close before. And she was something else. The graceful and strong way she moved, how she stopped to make sure Detective Silva was alright before saying something - Root couldn’t hear what - to Samaritan’s leader that was threatening enough to make him take his army and leave.

Then just before she went herself, Huntress looked right up at Root’s window and saw her. Root tentatively raised a hand in thanks, and she returned the gesture. 

Now Root had even more incentive. She was going to meet Huntress, no matter what it took.

-

Later that evening, the phone rang. Root checked the caller ID which said Batcave, switched on the voice modulator and answered, "This is Oracle."

"Oracle." It was Batman.

"You're back," she said, so stunned she momentarily became one of those people who states the obvious when they have nothing more intelligent to say.

"I need your help."

That was the Batman she knew. To the point, with no small talk. Although him asking for help was a new one. "Of course. What with?"

"I need you to find out who is running the Samaritan gang."

"Consider it done. Shouldn't be too hard, they just tried to raid my building, the jerks."

"Tried to?"

"Yeah. Huntress stopped them."

"Huntress?"

"You know her?"

"I know of her."

"She's been doing a good job guarding the city during your...extended absence. You got a good reason for that, by the way?"

"Work." The line went dead. He must have used up his daily word quota or something. Typical. 

"Dude really doesn't know how to say goodbye," Root said to herself.

Then she got to work doing what she did best. She got his face on the security camera footage, which was easy since he was so confident he hadn’t even thought to obscure his face, then ran it through facial recognition. While it worked, she made herself a cup of coffee, then as soon as she had a name she called Batman back.

"Jeremy Lambert," she told him.

“Good work,” he said. “There’s something else I need you to do as well. It’s about Huntress.”

-

Shaw unlocked the door to her apartment, tired after a long shift at the free clinic. She was one of the few people in NML with medical training, and had been doing her best to pass those skills along to as many people as she could. But there was only so much they could do with limited supplies, and she wished there was a way to help more.

Her building had endured the quake with little damage, and nobody had dared approach it during NML thanks to a bat tag she'd drawn on the front door. She tossed her keys into the bowl on the counter and sighed, taking out her ponytail and running her hands through her hair. Every muscle ached and she wanted a hot shower.

Instead of turning on the overhead light, she flicked on the small lamp.

"Sameen," said a deep voice from the other end of the room.

She whirled around and there he was, standing like a gargoyle in the corner. Beside him draped over the back of the couch was her Huntress costume, laid out carefully and not where she herself had left it before going out. It was a statement, and one she thought was unnecessary.

She felt her fists clench at the implicit humiliation. Not only did he know, the exposed costume seemed to shout, he had found out easily. For some reason, she was grateful for the dim light of the lamp and the protection it offered. Even though his cowl’s night vision meant he could still see her. But he clearly had some reason for these theatrics, although it was lost on her.

"What do you want?" she asked almost tiredly as she headed over to the kitchen and started making herself a mug of coffee.

"I need your help."

That caught her out. She'd always figured the Batman didn't need help and if he did, it wouldn't be from her. He had a funny way of showing it. "Do you always break into people's homes to offer them a job?"

"No. Sometimes I break into their place of work."

Was he...smiling? No. Must be a trick of the light. "So. Why me?"

"Oracle said you did a good job in my absence."

"Who's Oracle?"

"That's classified. Also the bat tags. And your civilian identity is so well hidden, you could be a valuable asset on both sides. It took us a long time to find out who you are."

"Uh...thanks?" She grabbed her mug and sat on the sofa, next to her Huntress costume. She thought about offering Batman a seat but figured he was more comfortable towering over her and trying to look intimidating. She was sure her casual attitude to his ‘scary’ act must be irritating him. 

"Do you accept?"

"If you tell me what you need me to do."

"We're going to stop the gang wars in Gotham. To do that, we need to control all four of them. Oracle will help you to infiltrate Catalyst, gain their trust and work your way up their ranks."

"And what will you give me in return?"

"You won't live in the middle of a gang war."

"Alright. And how do you plan on controlling the rest of the gangs?" What he was planning couldn’t be easy.

"That's for me to know." He held something out for her to take. "An earpiece with a secure line to Oracle. She can give you a full briefing and guide you through what you need to do."

She turned the earpiece over in her hand. She was right, it was far more high tech than anything available through the normal avenues. "I bet this tiny thing cost more than my car."

She looked up to see his reaction but he had already gone, leaving nothing but an open window in his wake. "I bet it isn't as annoying when I do that."

She put the earpiece in. "Hello?"

"Hi!" The voice that replied was distorted but still recognisably human. "You must be Huntress. I'm Oracle. It's nice to meet you."

"Uh, you too."

"Sorry, I'm just kind of a big fan. And we'll be working together so it's in our best interests to get to know each other."

"Okay, I'll bite. So, Oracle as in the Matrix?"

"As in Greek mythology, the Matrix thing was just a bonus. The Oracle of Delphi knows everything, which I aspire to do. And the Oracle Cassandra, who knew a lot but nobody believed her. To which I can relate." Her voice went quiet on the final sentence, but sprang back up when she spoke again. "What about you? Why Huntress?"

"Hunting down bad people, I guess."

"You guess? Choosing a name is important. Huntress has a good ring to it, certainly a name that instills fear."

"And I like the sound of it."

"See, that's more like it." Shaw could tell she was smiling.

"So. Batman tells me we have a job. How do we get started?"

Oracle took a breath. "Well…"


	2. 2

Shaw entered the hotel and switched on her earpiece. "Okay, I'm in."

"Great work," Oracle replied. "You shouldn't look too conspicuous. They chose this place because all the people coming and going disguises any suspicious movement."

She looked around the lobby. Like all of Gotham, it had seen better days. At least she presumed it had. Catalyst wouldn’t choose just anywhere for their base of operations so maybe it was haunted, or used to belong to a cult or something. It certainly had that sort of look to it. 

"There should be a maintenance elevator behind the 'employees only' door to your left," Oracle said. "You see it? You want the basement level."

"Yeah, I got it." She tried the door, which was locked, then picked the lock and opened it. The elevator was immediately in front of her and she pressed the button. "You should see this place, it's like something out of a horror movie. I am genuinely expecting an axe murderer to jump out at me any second."

Oracle laughed. "I think they would be more scared of you."

"In civilian clothes? Hardly likely. I could glare at them though. I got a mean glare."

The elevator arrived and she got into it, pressing the button for the basement. "Huh."

"What?"

"There's no muzak. Shameful." She tutted.

"You like muzak?" Oracle asked doubtfully.

"No. It's just not as atmospheric and they really seem to be going for the whole 'creepy' vibe."

"I have shivers going down my spine just thinking about it," Oracle said. “They have cameras down there so don’t make it obvious you’re speaking to me.”

The doors slid open and Shaw stepped out, following the dimly lit corridor that seemed to extend as far as the eye could see. "Dang, how far away is it?"

"You're nearly there. Take the next right and follow the chalk line on the wall. Because apparently they might get lost in their own tunnels. Ew, don't touch it!"

Shaw paused, her fingers mere centimetres away from the wall. "You can see me?"

"Security camera at your 11 o'clock, which was no easy feat to hack into. You look cute."

Shaw pretended to notice the camera for the first time and saluted it, which made Oracle laugh again. If it were anyone else she might be uncomfortable but she didn't mind Oracle watching her. It was kind of nice to know someone had her back. The only issue was this didn't go both ways. 

"What if I want to see you? It's hardly fair that you know everything about me."

"That's understandable." She paused for a second. "If you want I can tell you my name."

"It's not Oracle?"

"Oh har. Oracle is my code name, as well you know. My real name is Root."

"Root. I like that. Okay, Root, which way now?"

She'd been making her way along the corridor but got to a junction where there were different lanes going other ways and a door to one side.

"The door just here. Knock three times and you'll be asked a password. It changes every six hours and it's never in English. It is currently _geheim_. It's Dutch for secret. Little on the nose if you ask me, but thankfully I’m not a member of Catalyst."

"_Geheim_," Shaw repeated, making sure she replicated Root’s inflection exactly. "I think I got it." She knocked on the door, which was a lot more solid than she'd been expecting.

A small metal hatch slid open and a man with a scar running down from the corner of one eye looked at her.

“_Geheim_,” she said.

The hatch slid back and for a second she hoped she hadn’t messed up, then the whole door opened and the man stepped back to let her in, giving a disapproving look as she did so. She suspected it was his job to do that.

“You’re new here,” he said. It wasn’t a question, so she didn’t reply. “Follow me.”

He led her past what looked like a war room, with a map of the city laid out on a table and a concerning number of firearms. Then he did a complicated knock on another door and waited until a voice called, “Yes?”

He opened the door and indicated for her to go in, then closed it behind her. She was left in what appeared to be an office with a brunette woman sitting at the desk and looking at her with an intimidating glare.

“Who are you?” the woman asked.

"Sameen Shaw. I’d like to join Catalyst.”

“Is that so? Well we don’t accept just anyone. You’ll have to prove your loyalty to us."

Shaw had been suspecting something like that might be required and luckily, she was prepared. “Anything. Just tell me what to do.”

"I need you to go to Samaritan and bring back a hard drive containing a list of their members. Can you do that?"

"I can." She made sure to sound confident, often that was half the battle. “Shall I do it now?”

The woman tapped the desk thoughtfully. Shaw recognized it as a power move intended to make the recipient uncomfortable. It didn’t work on her. Eventually the woman spoke, "I suppose. Be sure to report back to me, specifically, as soon as you have it. My name is Control."

"Alright." Shaw nodded at her and figured she was dismissed, so opened the door and retraced her steps back to the elevator. The man she’d seen earlier gave her a strange look but she didn’t acknowledge him. She didn’t say anything until she was back in the elevator. "Root, did you get all that?"

"I sure did. I'm researching it now."

"You know where their headquarters is?"

"I do. I've been keeping track of all the gangs movements and any other intel I've been able to find." She sighed. "Okay. Do you have a grapple line?"

"No my utility belt is empty," Shaw said sarcastically. "But seriously, I never go anywhere without this thing. What sort of vigilante would I be if I didn't?"

"Not all vigilantes have one. I don’t.” She cleared her throat. “Anyway, fastest route is to swing across the upper east side and hitch a ride on top of the J Street train. Can you do that?"

"No problem." Shaw had been hoping for some action like this. She took aim at the top of a building nearby and fired her grapple gun. As soon as the hook was secured, she took a running jump and pressed the button to retract some of the line so she soared up into the air.

She stopped on the fire escape of a nearby building and did the same again, making her way across the blocks and working upwards until she was on top of the roof of the building she needed. She’d only done this a few times before, but hitching a ride on top of a moving train was no easy feat.

Within seconds she could hear the rumble of it approaching. She put her grapple gun away in her utility belt, got ready and waited for the exact moment, then jumped. She hit the roof and immediately ducked into a roll, which softened her landing. For a moment she lost her bearings, a side effect of going from stationary to moving, but quickly regained them and found a bar to hold on to.

“I’m on,” she said. She had to speak loudly to be heard over the train noise and wind rushing past her ears and whipping her ponytail in front of her face. “Root?”

“I’m here,” Root said. “You’re going to stay on until just before the main station, alright?”

“No problem.” Shaw raised her head and kept an eye out for her stop. Once she saw it approaching, she got her gun out again and fired, then jumped. She knew she had to do it quickly otherwise her arms would be wrenched out of their sockets. For a second she seemed to hover in midair before beginning her descent. She landed on the sidewalk outside what looked for all the world like an apartment building, but she knew in reality it was a lot more sinister than that.

It was the base of operations for the most dangerous gang in No Man’s Land. Samaritan was the only one who had specifically conquered the land of other gangs and used lethal force to do so. She’d had one run in with them before, when she stopped them invading the clock tower, and had threatened the leader with the fact that, unlike Batman, she would kill if she had to. Which was something she really hoped she would never put into practice. But she knew about what had happened to the previous building they invaded, and how anybody who protested their rule ended up in the ground. She hadn’t been about to let that happen a second time on her watch. 

“This is the building,” Root said in Shaw’s earpiece. “24381.”

“Whatever." Shaw rolled her eyes. She knew Root’s cryptic statements came in handy eventually, but apparently she enjoyed making Shaw figure it out for herself. 

She approached a door with an electronic keypad and immediately realised the number Root had given her was the code. She typed it in and cautiously opened the door, hoping there was nobody on the other side who would ask what she was doing.

It was empty, and Root directed her to the room she needed. At first she’d found it strange to obey the commands of a disembodied voice, but she’d gotten used to it surprisingly quickly. And she liked talking to Root.

She found a room filled with computers that was being guarded by a man in uniform. He looked extremely bored. Shaw got a tranquiliser gun out of her belt and fired a dart at him.

Now was her chance. She went to the nearest computer and typed themachine.oracle into the browser, which Root said would give her untraceable remote control over the computer and allow her to get the files needed and download them onto the USB Shaw had plugged into the computer. 

"It's taking a while, they must have a lot of members," Shaw said.

"Yeah. Listen, I have to go offline for a bit but I'll be right back."

"Okay."

When she next heard from Root, it was her real voice which Shaw wasn't expecting and it sounded quite nice. And also extremely worried. "Sameen, abort. You have to get out of there immediately. We've made a big mistake."

"What? Why?"

"It doesn't matter just get out of there now."

The download was at 98%. She looked around but couldn’t see anybody, so watched the progress bar inch towards 100%. It completed and she grabbed it out of the port and closed the browser tab. She tried to go back the way she had come but there were people coming. It was only seconds before they would see her. "Too late."

"I'll find you another route,” Root said, her voice frantic. “Out onto the fire escape, quickly!”

Shaw wrenched the window open and climbed out, closing it behind her.

“Do you trust me?” Root asked.

“I do,” Shaw said.

“Now jump!"

Shaw didn’t even hesitate, just glanced down at the road and saw a mattress truck approaching. Then threw herself onto it. The landing wasn’t anywhere as soft as she’d been expecting. She wasn’t hurt, just very dazed and the impact had knocked her earpiece out. She’d heard Root start to say something else, starting with ‘I need you to go to’ but she couldn’t find her earpiece anywhere on the truck. 

When the van came to a stop she sat up, her ears ringing like a bell, and climbed off the van. The driver didn’t even notice her. According to the tags she was in Street Demonz territory.

She walked down the street until she found a young boy in a leather jacket, waving a gun around and trying to look scary.

Maybe he would be able to help her, since she needed a way to contact Root. She walked up to him and held out her hand. "Give me your phone."

He tentatively pointed his gun at her, confirming her suspicion that he wasn’t half as tough as he seemed to think he was. 

"The phone, fool."

He held it out with his other hand and she took it. Then looked around for the nearest security camera and waved the phone while pointing at it. 

The kid took a few steps back from her. "I think you're the fool, lady."

"Watch what you say, Danny Zuko,” Shaw said and held up a finger. “I’m not having a very good day and you don’t want me to take it out on you.”

The phone rang and she held it up to her ear. “Oracle?” Since they were on an unsecured line she figured she’d better use codenames. 

"Huntress.” Root was using her distorted voice again. “You're not hurt, are you?"

"I'm fine. Where were you saying I should go?"

"Gotham clock tower. You'll understand when you get here."

"Okay. Speak to you soon."

She handed the phone back to the kid and nodded at him. He looked confused. Then she shoved her hands in her pockets and started walking to the clock tower.

-

Root was pacing the floor when Shaw entered, nervous to meet her in person. This was the first time one of her allies had actually come to her inner sanctum.

John and Harold had heard her real voice and knew her identity, such as it was. She hadn't existed on any public record since she left Texas for Gotham, and she liked it that way. But she had never met them in person.

The door slid open and Root's heart almost skipped a beat.

"Whoa," Shaw stood in the doorway and took in the room which was filled with high tech equipment until her gaze eventually settled where Root was standing.

"Hi," Root said, playing with the zip on the cuff of her leather jacket.

"Root?"

"It's me, sweetie."

"You're taller than I was expecting."

Root laughed. "You're cuter in person."

"You're cute too."

Root sat on the sofa and offered Shaw the seat next to her. "You'll be safe here. It's where I've been living since NML began."

"But why - why am I in hiding?"

Root clasped her hands in front of her. "The head of Samaritan isn't who we thought. It's someone far more dangerous."

"Who is it?" Shaw put a hand over Root's. "Root. Tell me, please."

"It's John Greer. He once nearly killed Batman. And he won't stop until we're all dead and he is in control."

Shaw nodded in understanding. "Then he needs to be stopped."

"It's not that easy, Sameen. We've tried before."

Shaw stood up, her posture determined. "You didn't have me before."

Root looked up at her. "We certainly didn't."

"Wait…" Shaw paused. "You said we. How many of you people are there?"

Well there's me and my people - Daizo, Jason and Daniel - then Batman, Harold, Commissioner Carter works with us sometimes, and there used to be more but they haven't been with us since No Man's Land."

"That's more than I was expecting." Shaw sat back down. "You know I, uh, I had a partner, Cole, called himself the Question. Worked together kind of how we do, sometimes he was a voice in my ear and sometimes we were in the field together. But the capo di tutti capi hired this guy, Hersch, to kill us because we were planning to expose him. He pretended to be in danger and we had to protect him, then at the last minute turned on us. Killed Cole and injured me. I survived, but he told the capo I'd died, because he was too afraid to admit he'd failed. Somebody offed the capo later, I wouldn't be surprised if it was Hersch trying to cover for himself."

"I'm sorry about Cole," Root said softly.

"Me too. Always thought I worked better alone. Until him... and now until you."

Root smiled. "I always thought we made a pretty good team."

Shaw shrugged one shoulder. "You're alright, I guess."

-

Carter stepped out onto the roof and bent to switch on the batsignal. She needed to talk to Huntress about some chatter she'd heard regarding a possible gang war. And that scared her more than she wanted to admit.

Technically she wasn't Commissioner anymore, technically the police force didn't even _exist_ anymore, but in her soul she still felt a deep commitment to protecting this city. She even still wore her badge around her neck. And she had no idea how to stop a war breaking out when there was just her, Huntress and a handful of cops loyal to her.

She flicked on the switch and instantly heard a deep voice from behind her. "Commissioner."

She started and whirled around, automatically pointing her gun at the voice. Then realised who it was and lowered her weapon. "Batman. One of these days I'm going to end up shooting you."

"I get that a lot."

"Still, you're back," she said, letting relief show in her voice. He was alive. Then she gave him a look. "But seriously, were you waiting in the shadows to startle me when I put the signal on?"

"Yes."

She nodded as if she'd expected as much. "Well, at least you're honest."

"I need your help," he said.

"Funny. I was about to say the same thing to you." When he didn't say anything else, she continued. "I heard tell there's plans for a gang war. And I don't know how much you know about the current state of Gotham, but there's no way we can handle that much devastation."

"Don't worry, Commissioner. I have a plan to stop all this violence. But it requires your cooperation as head of the Blue Boys."

Carter sighed and thought for a moment before speaking. "It's been a long year."

"Yes, it has."

"Batman, are we friends?"

The light made the ears on the cowl look as they were meant to look, the horns of a winged demon. Even the lower part of his face looked supernatural. "Yes, we're friends."

"Good. I don't have many friends, I don't have many people I trust. But I trusted you. You saved my life and protected my people, I'm grateful for that, don't think that I'm not. But that's not enough. You say that you're my friend but I don't think that you really have friends."

All the frustration she'd been holding inside for the past year came flooding out and she couldn't stop it. Something about the way Batman just stood there and took it made her keep speaking.

She continued, "You know, when NML was announced I tried to leave. Thought Tyler and I could move somewhere else, abandon the sinking ship, I thought I could get a detective job elsewhere. But nobody would hire me. No one wants a cop who needs an urban legend to do her detective work for her. Batman, I thought we were in this together. I thought we wanted the same thing: to keep this city safe. Where the hell were you?"

His only response was, "Preparing."

Carter jabbed a finger at him. "That's why I don't think we're friends. You don't trust me. We're supposed to be equals! Partners tell each other their plans. And they sure as hell don't walk out on you in the middle of a sentence!"

There was a moment of silence. Batman seemed as stunned as if she'd slapped him. Something in his posture changed. He seemed smaller and more fragile, at last looking like the human she knew he was under the cowl.

"I've never been good at saying goodbye," he said. "Commissioner, you're the best cop I know. There's nobody living that I respect more than you. But saying so isn't enough. Words don't mean anything, they don't fix the trust. Actions speak louder but lately my actions haven't said anything to you."

Carter realised what Batman was doing a second after the motion started. Saw the vigilante's hands coming up to his cowl and she turned away, putting her back to him.

"Carter," he began.

"No. Put it back on."

"It's the only thing I can give you other than my word."

"If I wanted to know who you were I could have discovered it years ago. For all you know maybe I did. But right now, your actions from this moment forward can help you regain my trust. Help me protect what's left of this city."

She turned back and saw the cowl firmly in place. Batman nodded.

"My plan will come to fruition in a few days," he said, "and this city will be free of gang violence. Can I count on your help?"

"You can," Carter promised.

"Thank you. Goodbye, Commissioner."

He fired his grapple line and jumped off the roof.

Carter watched him go. "Good luck...John."

-

Reese waited until Zoe Morgan invited him in. She was the head of the Street Demonz gang and she was independent, capable and wouldn't do him any favors just because they had a lot of history. 

She even kept him waiting just to make a point.

"John. What can I do for you?"

He saw no point in beating around the bush. "I'm uniting all the gangs. Will you join me?"

"What's in it for me?" Zoe was equally blunt. He suspected that was why they'd always gotten along.

"I'm glad you asked." He set the duffle bag on the table and unzipped it. "Fifty thousand dollars."

Zoe inclined her head to the side. "Keep talking. Of course, in No Man's Land money doesn't really have the same value..."

"I'm sure you'll find a way to put it to use."

He knew for a fact she had a direct link to a supplier outside of NML, which made her the person to see if you were looking for a particular item and she was doing booming business. Add that to her information database beaten only by Oracle's and you had one of the most powerful people in the city.

"I suppose you're right. What's your plan?"

"I can't tell you any more than this. I just need to know I can count on you and your gang's help."

"If you insist," Zoe said.


	3. 3

"I can't believe you made me do this," Shaw grumbled as she trekked through the underground tunnel that had formerly been a sewer. It hadn't been used in decades but the smell remained.

"Unless you'd rather be found by Samaritan I suggest you find a way to cope," Root said over the comms.

She had insisted on Shaw leaving the clock tower with a concerning number of weapons and taking the underground passages back to the Catalyst headquarters. This was because Shaw herself insisted on returning to Catalyst to deliver the USB drive. Just because her life was in danger didn't mean she couldn't complete her mission. Especially when so much was on the line here.

“This is your stop,” Root said. “On your left.”

Shaw turned and saw a ladder leading up to a covered pothole. She started climbing, then pushed the cover off and pulled herself up onto the sidewalk.

“If you tell anyone about this,” Shaw grunted as she climbed out, “we’re throwing down. Seriously, I will fight you.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Root replied in a mild tone.

Shaw suspected Root would keep security footage of this for her personal viewing, but decided to let it go since Root already knew how much dignity she’d sacrificed for this mission. Instead, she focused on getting her bearings and finding the way back to Catalyst headquarters. Thankfully she recognised the street and remembered the way she'd gone last time.

“_Senha_,” Root said after a few minutes of silence. 

For a second Shaw thought she had sneezed, then realized it was a word. "What?”

“That’s the password.”

“Right. Thanks.” She'd forgotten about the ever-changing entry password.

Shaw entered the hideout and nodded at the grumpy doorman. He didn’t smile, but he didn’t glare at her either which was progress. No doubt she'd be on his Christmas card list by the end of the month.

“Can I see Control?” she asked him.

By way of response he simply pointed at her door, which she took as an invitation to go ahead. She knocked and pushed it open a crack. When nobody objected she pushed it open the whole way and saw Control standing by the window.

“As you wanted, Ma’am.” She held the USB out.

Control took it without saying anything, then sat at the desk and plugged it into the computer. She scrolled through the documents on it and nodded. "Welcome to Catalyst, Sameen Shaw."

“Thank you.”

Control gestured towards the door. “Dismissed.”

She left the office and heard some people talking in the room next to it, which was the computer lab. Through the open door she could see a man and a woman, who then noticed her and beckoned her in. Grudgingly, she entered. If she wanted to earn their trust it would involve actually talking to them.

“Hi,” said the woman. “You must be new here. I’m Harper, and this fool here is Leon.”

Shaw gave them her best friendly smile. She'd never been good at small talk but she could play the role if she had to. “Hey I’m Shaw. And yeah I just joined. Did you guys have to do those crazy initiation tasks? I thought this was a gang, not a sorority.”

“Yeah.” Harper laughed. “It’s pretty wild. What’d Control get you to do?”

“Obtain a list of Samaritan’s members.”

“And you did it?” Leon asked, disbelieving.

“Yeah,” Shaw said in a ‘what like, it’s hard’ tone. That part at least was true.

Harper let a breath out and shook her head. “That’s impressive. Catalyst has been trying to do that for months but nobody managed it. But you come in a newbie and make it look easy.” She put an arm around Shaw’s shoulders. “I think we’re going to be friends.”

Shaw shrugged and tried to extract herself from Harper’s grasp without being too obvious about it. “What can I say, I like a challenge. What did you have to do?”

“Steal a can of Street Demonz spray paint and draw their symbol in Blue Boys territory."

“Find out how many weapons the Blue Boys have,” Leon replied. “But no newbies have gone up against Samaritan before.”

“Maybe I’m just special,” Shaw said. “What’s the deal with Control?”

Leon shrugged. “Nobody knows. I suspect she’s immortal and has actually just been like this forever.”

“Nah.” Harper shook her head. “Her name is Diane and she has a daughter called Julia.”

Leon gave her a worried look and took a step back. 

Harper tossed her hair nonchalantly. "What? I know stuff.”

“I..was not expecting to learn that about her,” Shaw said.

An alarm sounded and Shaw looked around, trying to locate its source.

“Meeting in the war room,” Harper translated for Shaw’s benefit. She indicated with her head. “Let’s go.”

The large crowd had assembled around the table and Control was speaking in a tone that would make a Roman orator jealous. Shaw followed Leon and Harper to the least crowded corner and listened to Control's battle plan.

"Now we have information on Samaritan's numbers I believe we can take them easily," she was saying. "So we should go for a full-frontal assault with as much artillery as possible and push them back, then claim their territory for our own. If it goes well we can expand our eastern border all the way to the coast, forcing Samaritan up into Street Demonz territory."

As she listened to this, Shaw shook her head. "No," she said. Everyone in the room turned to look at her and Control folded her arms. "That won't work. Samaritan's numbers might be small but they more than make up for it with skill and brutality. Just look at their track record! They literally wiped out the Coaster gang. You don't want that to be us, do you?"

Narrowing her eyes Control said, "What do you suggest?"

"Take them by surprise. Our best shot at overpowering them is if they have no time to prepare. Take the underground tunnel here -" she pointed at the map "- and we emerge nearby, keep our weapons concealed until the last possible moment."

A few people in the room nodded along and Control grudgingly accepted what she had said. Harper and Leon, for their part, seemed thrilled to be friends with such a good strategist. 

"You're a legend, Shaw," Leon said as people began to filter out of the room. 

Shaw didn't get chance to reply before Harper said, “I honestly think you’d make a better leader than Control.”

“Keep that thought in mind," Shaw said. She hadn't been expecting it to be this it easy but then Control lacked one of the most effective qualities a leader could have - humanity.

Now she just had to let Batman know she was in.

-

"I bet you're wondering why I gathered you all here today."

Reese stood at the head of the table in the batcave, where everyone had assembled. And it was literally everyone. Finch, Root, Shaw, Zoe and Carter. They had all responded promptly to his message summoning them to the cave.

Carter had come quickly, and Reese had greeted her without his cowl. The truth was he’d overheard her address him by his civilian name the previous night, but he’d wanted to reveal his identity to her anyway. The fact that she’d figured it out on her own was no surprise. In fact, it just went to show how intelligent and perceptive she was. No wonder she’d been elected Commissioner. 

“It’s good to see you,” he’d said to her. “And I think it’s high time I brought you into the fold properly, Commissioner.”

“Carter,” she corrected him. “And thank you.”

The room was otherwise silent. “The reason for this emergency meeting is because we have to move faster than I initially hoped,” he continued. “Carter brought it to my attention that a gang war is brewing and Root confirmed how many people are involved in this. So we need to act quickly. Samaritan is going to invade Catalyst, as they are aware a list of their members was stolen.”

“My bad,” Shaw said, but she didn’t sound guilty.

“Which gives us the opportunity for the Street Demonz and the Blue Boys to ally themselves with Catalyst against Samaritan. Once Samaritan realises how outnumbered they are and also that I’m back, then they will back down.”

“Samaritan has never backed down in their lives,” Carter pointed out. “And I’m certain they’re not about to now. Are you sure that’s a good plan?”

“Carter’s right,” Shaw added. “Numbers alone won’t scare them. And unless you’re greatly overestimating your scariness…” She tailed off and shrugged.

Reese sighed. “Look, I didn’t come here to be insulted.”

"No? Well where do you usually go?"

“But if you have a better plan I’m all ears.” He spread his arms out.

“Was that a, uh, reference to your bat ears?” Shaw held two fingers up to either side of her head to create the shape of his cowl.

Reese just glared at her and she slowly lowered them. 

Carter raised her hand like a kid in a classroom. “If I may make a suggestion? We surround Samaritan instead. Make our numbers work for us and don’t give them anywhere to run.”

Finch nodded. “Thanks to Miss Shaw's exemplary undercover work we already know where Catalyst will be, so the other gangs can position themselves where they will be most effective. Miss Morgan, I humbly suggest your people take Samaritan’s upper border here. And Commissioner Carter, your people take their western border. So they will have nowhere to retreat except into the ocean.”

Reese couldn’t argue with their ideas. “Yes. Then Carter can confront Samaritan’s leader, who wouldn’t dare try anything in the open with so many witnesses. Shaw and myself will wait in the shadows and not reveal ourselves until the very last moment. Finch and Root can provide tech support from here. And remember - we only get one shot at this, so we have to succeed. Does everyone understand what they’re doing?”

A consensus of nods followed his question and Reese could do nothing more but hope it would go well. He’d been working on this plan since the beginning of No Man’s Land and in truth it was only part of the reason for his self-imposed isolation during the first year after the bridges blew.

Following the death of the first woman he had ever loved and his return from the military when he was directionless and questioning everything, his work with Finch had helped him find a sense of purpose again. He had dedicated his life to protecting this city and it had suddenly become unrecognizable. Apparently the USA had decided Gotham wasn’t good enough for them and his quest was impossible. After that it had taken him some time to find himself again. But now he was back and ready to defend his city to the death if need be. 

-

Shaw was wearing her Huntress gear again, for the first time since this crazy scheme had begun. It felt fitting that she was going to end this the same way she started it. She was waiting outside where she knew Catalyst was going to emerge, and had already sown the seed with Harper and Leon that if any other gangs were to offer their help they should accept, regardless of what she knew Control was likely to say. 

Zoe and Carter had informed her over the comms that their respective groups had listened to their instructions and were on their way. Everyone had breathed a sigh of relief following that. The plan really was coming together.

“Hey Sweetie,” Root said over the comms. “I’ve got us on a private line, don’t worry. You nervous?”

“I don’t get nervous.”

“I am,” Root admitted. “I don’t know what we’ll do if this goes wrong.”

“We’ll manage. We always do. I think that’s the true spirit of Gotham. No matter how many times you hit the ground you always get back up again.”

“Interesting. I like that.”

Catalyst’s people emerged from the underground tunnel. Shaw was the tiniest bit proud when she saw they’d taken her advice and were concealing their weapons. But she kept herself hidden, crouching out of sight behind a trash can. She knew Batman was hiding somewhere as well. Finch and Root were monitoring everything on the batcomputer, as Shaw had started thinking of it, and keeping them updated via the comms. 

Zoe’s people were the next to arrive, coming down from their northernmost area. Control, predictably, wasn’t happy about the idea of having backup but Harper persuaded her to let them help. The Blue Boys arrived shortly after, with Carter keeping out of sight as well. 

Control’s reaction was priceless and Shaw hoped Root had recorded it. Samaritan’s people came out of the building and Carter stepped out from behind her gang. Shaw recognised a few of them. Lionel Fusco, Dani Silva and a couple more she didn’t know by name.

“I demand to speak to your leader,” she said in her most authoritative voice. As Commissioner she’d had a long time to practice it.

A young brunette man appeared moments later. For a second Shaw was confused, then remembered that nobody else knew about Greer and Lambert was the boss on paper. But in the doorway behind him she saw an older, white-haired man. Greer. 

“You’re outnumbered, Lambert,” Carter told him. “So don’t try to fight. We’re here to inform you that No Man’s Land is no longer divided and we will not stand for you targeting any of its people. You will dissolve your gang and accept the new rules.”

“I don’t think so.” He sneered. “Now!”

His people stormed out of the building, brandishing guns. They took aim at the crowd but didn’t fire. Catalyst drew their weapons, as did the Blue Boys and Street Demonz. Then it started. Shaw knew this was her cue, so she drew her crossbow and jumped into the fray. She fired strictly non-lethal shots - Reese and Finch had been very adamant about that - and found that she was able to hold her own in the fight with ease. Most of the people lacked training and efficiency, especially newer recruits. NML brought out the anger in people but not the skill. 

"Behind you," Root said in her earpiece.

Without turning, Shaw held her fist up and in one swift movement knocked out the guy behind her. In the corner of her eye she saw Lambert turn and run inside the building. 

"Huntress, go after Lambert," Reese said on the open line. "Carter has Greer."

"On it." She pushed her way through the crowd, which more or less parted for her anyway. Costumed vigilantes reputation in Gotham stayed strong. She followed him up the stairs and when he was about to enter a room, fired her crossbow. An arrow embedded itself just above the doorhandle, grazing the top of his hand enough to draw a thin line of blood.

He released the handle and started running again, heading further up the stairs. Shaw was hot on his heels and cornered him on the roof. It had a low ledge going all the way around it, over which they could see the battle waging on beneath them. 

"Ah, Huntress," he said as casually as if they’d run into each other at the grocery store. "I've been wanting to speak with you."

"Funny," she said. "I have absolutely no desire to speak with you."

He was no fighter, she could tell that much from his stance and body language. He was a talker. He was speaking to her, but she ignored what he was saying and tackled him. Within seconds she had him against the roof ledge. She twisted her wrist to get one of her spikes and held it to his throat. With just a bit more pressure she could crush his windpipe. Or with some force she could break his neck.

He was leaning over the ledge slightly, and the only thing preventing him from falling was the grip she had on his shirt.

"Call your people off," she ordered.

"Now why would I ever do that?"

"I don't think you quite understand this situation so let me make it as clear as possible." She held her spike closer, where it was just beginning to dig into his throat. As she did this, she loosened her hold on his shirt so he leant further off the ledge. "I can kill you three different ways without breaking a sweat."

From where she was, she could see that on the ground fighting had stopped. Everyone was staring up at the rooftop watching Huntress and Samaritan’s leader battling it out, presumably to the death. Shaw wondered if this fight would decide the outcome of the battle as a whole.

"I admit it, you have me beat," Lambert said.

"Then why are you smiling?"

"Because I know something you don't know. Martine!"

A gunshot sounded out somewhere behind them. She turned slightly, keeping one eye on Lambert. It was a blonde woman holding a gun pointed directly at Shaw’s head.

"That was a warning shot," the blonde woman informed her.

"She knew that," Lambert said.

"Root," Shaw breathed, quieter than a whisper. She just hoped it would be enough. Then she retracted her wrist spike and pointed her crossbow at Martine with her free hand. They had reached a sort of Mexican standoff.

"What was that?" Lambert asked.

"I said, you need to bring her in to do your dirty work for you?"

"I can't very well let you kill me in front of all these people."

"You're gonna wish I'd killed you."

Root's voice came through the earpiece, her real voice and so quiet Shaw could barely make out the words. "On my signal, Sameen."

The roof door slammed open and out came Root with a gun in each hand. Shaw had never been happier to see anyone in her life.

Without hesitating, Root shot Martine in the kneecap and when she fell Root grabbed her by the arm and produced something from her jacket pocket.

Shaw didn’t see what it was because her attention was drawn to what Lambert was saying. She tried to ignore it, but couldn’t.

“Did I ever tell you about the job I had before this?” he said. “I used to work for the capo. But one day I found out these two annoying people pretending to be vigilantes had found out some stuff they shouldn’t. I should have done a better job at getting you killed.”

Shaw stood and threw him onto the ground, pointing her crossbow down at him. Then she squeezed the trigger. 

If anyone asked she would say she changed her mind at the last second. But the truth was her crossbow jammed.

“Huntress,” Root said quietly, coming up behind Shaw and gently running a hand across her back. “Let me deal with him.”

Shaw nodded and put her crossbow back in its thigh holster.

Root knelt and injected something into his arm. A tranquiliser. "He'll be out for a good while, but fine in the long run. Unfortunately." She stood up. “Let’s go.”

They left the unconscious Samaritan members on the rooftop and started walking down the stairwell.

“That was quite the badass entrance,” Shaw said, gently nudging Root in the ribs.

“You were quite the badass yourself.”

They made it as far as the next floor down before Root pinned her to the wall and they started kissing passionately.

-

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the building Carter had followed Greer inside the building to a room filled with computer screens and pointed a gun at him.

“It’s over Greer,” she said. “We know who you are, what you’ve done and I have enough to put you away for several lifetimes. Huntress has taken down your puppet leader and Batman is at this moment convincing your people not to fight. Face it. You’ve lost.”

“I doubt that.” He spoke into an earpiece. “Jeremy? Martine?” But there was no reply. For the first time she saw him begin to lose his composure. “What did you do to them?”

“I just told you. Huntress took them down.” She cocked her gun. “You work for me now.”

He took one look at her face and held his hands up in surrender. Smart decision. The entire future of No Man's Land was riding on this and Carter was willing to do whatever she had to in order to keep the people safe.

“And my first order for you is turn yourself in.” She got her handcuffs from where she was keeping them on her belt. “You’re under arrest. You'll be spending the rest of your days in Blackgate Penitentiary. Be thankful it isn't Arkham.”

She cuffed him and kept her gun digging into his back as she walked him outside. A huge crowd had amassed and she skirted past the outside of them to get to where her car was parked. None too gently, she put him on the back seat and turned to where she could see Batman standing on the steps of the building and addressing the crowd.

Seeing him in daylight was unusual and she'd also never heard his deep voice so loud. She hoped it wasn’t hurting his throat.

"We need to work together and it has just been proven we are more than capable of doing so," he was saying. "Our country abandoned all of us, but we don't need to abandon each other. As of this moment, there are no more gangs in No Man’s Land. Samaritan, your leaders are not in charge of you any more. You are free to make your own choices. No crime will be tolerated. Instead we will focus on making the most of what we have, sharing out resources and helping one another."

Carter noticed Root and Shaw emerging from the building, both looking rumpled. Shaw had lipstick smeared on her cheek and Root’s leather jacket was zipped all the way up despite the fact that it wasn't cold.

Batman finished his speech with, “I hope you will all be happy with this.”

The people applauded and Carter thought maybe life in No Man’s Land wouldn’t be so bad after all.


End file.
